Page 78 of Blooms of Darkness

Suddenly, it encompassed me, too. Even without magic, something stroked my skin. Something ominous, heavy, and wrong. A hum of dark energy lay just out of reach.

A whistle sounded throughout the air seconds before an arrow struck the ground in front of my horse's hooves. The beast reared. “Easy, girl, easy,” I said, trying to soothe her angst.

My eyes widened, and moved slowly from the arrow to Kade, then to the trees beyond.

We were under attack.

I quickly pulled the dagger from its sheath at my side.

Ian turned his horse, facing me and Kade. “Go, as fast as you can. We have a better chance of making it if we can get to the next field where they will not be able to hide in the trees.”

“What about you?” I asked, but as I spoke, Ian jumped from his horse and leapt into the air, shifting into his hawk form.

“Damn, I’ve never seen a shifter transform so quick,” Storm said. “Come on.”

Without missing a beat, Storm grabbed onto the reins of Ian’s horse, and the three of us galloped as fast as we could through the remaining parts of the forest. We would have to ride close to the tree line and through one more patch, before entering the open field. We had no other option.

Storm pushed his horse harder, begging her to gallop faster as we followed.

As we fled through the forest, arrows soared above our heads the entire journey. Only they weren’t even close to hitting us. They volleyed over and over, always landing near our horses’ hooves, or behind us.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

They whizzed but remainedjustoff by a few inches. Almost as if they were trying to miss us.

A screech from the air stopped my heart. I knew that cry, Fates help us.

We cleared the forest and into the open field before we immediately came to a halt.

No.

An audible gasp escaped my lips at the sight before me. At least thirty dark ones rushed toward us. We’d ridden straight into a trap.

There were too many. Re-gripping my dagger, I knew there would be no time to hesitate. No time to panic.

The dark ones descended upon Storm first, and he jumped from his horse. He hadn’t even reached for his sword this time, like he had done previously.

“What are you doing?” I cried, scared for him as he held his hands out to his side.

Fire ignited in each palm, winding up his arm. “Come and get me,” he snarled.

Ian landed in hawk form, shifting quickly as he grabbed his sword from his horse’s pack. He turned, barely removing it in time to get to the attackers.

Kade swung off his own steed, blade in hand. He appeared to float as his shadows unfurled from his limbs and reached out, grabbing the first three attackers near him and snapping their necks.

I stared in absolute awe at the magic I witnessed. Storm and Kade were stronger than any Fae I knew except for my father. They were honed like they’d been fighting their entire lives.

Honed just like Ian, if not better, given the magic they possessed.

Where had they been hiding such magic? Why had they been hiding it?

I’d seen those shadows, though. They’d protected me from Lord WestandAndras in the hallway. They’d curled around me playfully tugging at my hair when I found Kade reading. Fates, I didn’t realize how powerful they were at the time.

I didn’t have long to stare before two dark ones reached me. They stalked toward me, assuming I was weaker, and they could take their time. Snickering as if I were a toy to play with, not a woman who could actually fight.

“I’d grab a weapon if I were you.” I grimaced before darting forward, using the techniques Ian and I perfected in the pit.

One thing I learned to love most about a battle was the moment of shock on a person’s face when they realized they’d underestimated me. With a smile, I knew I had the dark ones caught off guard and had sliced through one of their necks before he had time to grab a blade.

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